Mom and her Sister at Noah's Ark Ride at Cedar Point

The rather grainy snapshot above is a picture of my mother, Joyce Parker Orshoski, and her younger sister Sally in front of the Noah's Ark attraction at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio in the mid to late 1940s. From 1925 to 1955, my great grandfather Leroy Parker was one of the several area men who ran the Concourse Amusement Company which operated concessions at Cedar Point. Leroy and Ada's grandchildren had the opportunity to visit Cedar Point in the summer many, many times. When relatives came back to Sandusky for a visit, of course Cedar Point was one of the favorite places to visit. Grandpa Roy and Grandma Ada had a small cottage at Cedar Point, so when the little ones got tired from the excitement of the amusement park, they could go back to the cottage for a snack or a much needed nap!

Sentimental Sunday: Cedar Point Guide from 1962

In 1962,the operating season for Cedar Point ran from May 26 to September 3. It was only the second season for the Sky Ride, the buckets that took you from one end of the Midway of the amusement park to the other. Inside the guide, you can see many more of Cedar Point's attractions. The brochure states that the Cedar Point beach is the "world's finest bathing beach." Two types of cars could be driven by guests, the 1910 Model Cadillac cars, or the brightly colored convertibles on the Turnpike Ride. (This was during the "baby boom" years, and the Ohio Turnpike was still relatively new.) The Sky Wheel, a double ferris wheel, provided a beautiful view of the park and Lake Erie and the city of Sandusky.

A colorful map on the brochure states that "All roads point to Cedar Point!"

Several generations of my family have enjoyed summer visits to Cedar Point, from my Great Grandpa Leroy Parker, down to my grandsons!

Sentimental Sunday: Cedar Point Booklet from 1911

Recently a local collector loaned me a Cedar Point promotional booklet from 1911. The booklet was printed by the Corday and Gross Company of Cleveland, for the Cedar Point Resort Company. G.A. Boeckling was the President and General Manager of Cedar Point in 1911.























I was able to scan several pages from the booklet, and create a slideshow at Kizoa.Com. Click the arrows to page through the images in the slideshow. Click on the words Cedar Point Booklet below, to see all of the pages in the booklet more easily.

Cedar Point Booklet - make slideshow

You can click here to learn more about the history of Cedar Point. Several outstanding books have been written about Cedar Point, and are available to borrow at most Ohio libraries, or can be purchased at Cedar Point or Amazon.com. If you have ancestors who lived in northern Ohio in the twentieth century, it is very likely that they visited Cedar Point, or knew someone who did.

G. A. Boeckling

George A. Boeckling was a salesman and a real estate agent. He was born in Indiana in 1862. In 1897 he became general manger of the newly formed Cedar Point Pleasure Resort Company in Sandusky, Ohio. Under Boeckling’s leadership, Cedar Point was transformed from a summer picnic area to a thriving amusement park, attracting visitors from miles away. Mr. Boeckling spent several decades expanding the amusement park, adding flower gardens, rides, and several hotels. Customers flocked to Cedar Point during the summer seasons under Boeckling’s management. They came by the interurban, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and by steamship. Starting in 1908 the steamer G.A. Boeckling started providing local transportation between the city of Sandusky and Cedar Point.

In 1922 the Sandusky Register called him “the man who made Cedar Point.” George A. Boeckling died July 24, 1931, and is buried at Oakland Cemetery.















This portrait of G. A. Boeckling is located in the lobby of the Hotel Breakers at Cedar Point.









Click on the image below to see how the Hotel Breakers appeared in 1905. This painting is also found in the lobby of the Hotel Breakers.














The steamer, the G.A. Boeckling, was named after Cedar Point's general manager. It took passengers across Sandusky Bay, from the city of Sandusky to Cedar Point, from about 1908 through 1952.

Knute Rockne Markers in Sandusky

During the summer of 1913, Knute Rockne and Charles "Gus" Dorias, both University of Notre Dame students working during the summer at Cedar Point, perfected the forward pass on the Cedar Point beach. That same year, Knute Rockne met Bonnie Skiles, another Cedar Point employee.























On July 15, 1914, Knute Rockne and Bonnie Skiles were married at the rectory of Saints Peter and Paul Church. Gus Dorais was the best man at the wedding. The location of the church rectory was selected, because Knute Rockne had not yet converted to Catholicism at the time of the wedding.



















Knute Rockne became a legend as the football coach of the "Fighting Irish." His life was cut short in a plane crash on March 31, 1931. You can view the gravesite of Knute Rockne at South Bend, Indiana's Highland Cemetery at FindaGrave.

Tom Parker at Cedar Point

Steen Thomas "Tom" Parker is pictured on a pony at Cedar Point in 1929. Tom's grandfather, Leroy Parker, was a concessionaire at Cedar Point from about 1924 until 1954. Leroy, along with two other Sandusky men, operated the Concourse Amusement Company. Among the rides in the company were: Noah's Ark, Caterpillar, Rocket Ships, Joy Plane, Scooter, and Heigh-De-Ho in the Dark. Leroy and his wife Ada owned a farm in Perkins Township until 1941, but they would still manage to put in many hours during the summer at Cedar Point. They had a cottage on the Point, and their many grandchildren would often spend the weekend at the cottage, enjoying the beach and the many fun attractions of Cedar Point. Tom's younger sister Sally used to mention playing with the gypsies' children while she was spending time with her Grandma and Grandpa Parker.

After Tom married and moved to California, on occasion he would bring his family back to Ohio. These candid family snapshots were taken in August, 1954. Tom is pictured with his Grandpa Leroy Parker and his extended family.


Take a look at Cedar Point's website to read more about history of this delightful amusement park. The grandchildren and great grandchildren of Leroy and Ada Parker have fond memories of their summer days and nights spent at Cedar Point.

See previous posts in the Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay to learn more about the Parker family, and view photos of the final resting places of Tom, Leroy, and Ada Parker.

Leroy and Ada Parker

Leroy and Ada Steen Parker were married on March 3, 1901 in Perkins Township of Erie County. To the left is a photo from their fiftieth wedding anniversary. The parents of both the bride and groom were farmers in Perkins, and were involved in the Perkins Grange, the Methodist Church, and the Erie County Agricultural Association. Leroy Parker served as an Erie County Commissioner from 1920 to 1924. Leroy and Ada both also worked summers for the Concourse Amusement Company at Cedar Point. One of their favorite attractions was "Noah's Ark," a ride in which you could go into a replica of Noah's Ark, and see the animals. It was similar to a "fun house,"because the floor moved as you walked on it.

During the Second World War, many Perkins Township farms were taken by the U.S. Government for the building of the Plum Brook Ordnance Works. Some farmers bought land elsewhere in Erie and Huron Counties, but Leroy and Ada did not choose to continue farming. They moved to an apartment in Sandusky, and focused on their work at Cedar Point, and often wintered in Florida.

Leroy and Ada took an active role in the lives of their families, especially enjoying their several grandchildren. Leroy and Ada Parker both died in the 1950's, and are buried in Perkins Township.




Throughout Ada Steen Parker’s adult life, she kept a personal diary as well as a notebook of clippings containing articles about weddings, church and grange events, family dinners, and funerals. These notebooks got passed down to my mother. As a young child I would read these articles over and over again, thinking about how life must have been in the “good old days.”

My Great Grandma Ada’s notebooks helped inspire me to learn more about my family heritage. Now Grandma's clippings help me piece together the chronology of events that transpired in the lives of my ancestors and their neighbors and friends in Erie County, Ohio.